Lena Afridi

Director of Economic Development Policy

Lena.A@anhd.org

p:

212-747-1117, ext. 12

Lena Afridi is the Director of Economic Development Policy. Born in Karachi and raised in Queens, Lena is committed to vibrant communities, good jobs, and safe and affordable housing for low and moderate income communities of color and immigrant communities. At ANHD, Lena helps implement policies that address economic and racial inequality in New York City through research, data analysis, and advocacy. Lena has worked across movements for over a decade, and connects issues of race, labor, and city planning. She was a 2016 Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow and a 2017 Next City Vanguard Fellow. Lena holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Regional Planning Degree from Cornell University. In her spare time, Lena can be found writing or powerlifting.

Lena's Resources

Lena's Blogs

Today commercial tenants experiencing harassment are able to take legal action for the first time, thanks to a new law authored by Councilmember Robert Cornegy. This legislation, supported by ANHD and the United for Small Businesses NYC coalition, is the first step in a long road to creating real, meaningful commercial tenant protections and just part of a much needed, broader toolkit of small business supports.

The City Council took an important first step today to protect New York City's small businesses and passed Intro 851 to curtail harassment of commercial tenants. This bill, sponsored by Council Member Robert Cornegy, chair of Council's Committee on Small Business, creates for the first time a definition of commercial tenant harassment and provides business owners with the ability to litigate against unscrupulous landlords.

Monday, NYC EDC announced that the number of outer borough private sector jobs has grown at more than double the rate of jobs in Manhattan since Mayor de Blasio has taken office. ANHD applauds the Administration's success in increasing jobs outside of Manhattan.

New York City is experiencing major financial growth. But despite its economic dynamism, the city’s economic vitality remains unevenly distributed, and income inequality is at an all-time high. The City’s economic successes remain particularly out of reach for the low-, middle- and working-class communities that constitute the backbone of New York City.

Mayor de Blasio has made taking on income inequality a primary goal of his administration, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), will play a major role in shaping how that goal is met.